by “The Food Guy” – Food Blogger / Restaurant Critic for Vero Vine and Vero Beach Foodie
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For my next tasting experience, I head to Miracle Mile and to Siam Orchid Thai & Sushi restaurant! I’ve been writing for VeroVine.com now for 2 and a half years and believe it or not, this is the first Asian restaurant that I’ve reviewed. Moving from the Midwest a little over 4 years ago, this type of cuisine was not as prevalent up there as it seems to be in the south. I’ve had the opportunity to dine at a few locations across Vero and my love and knowledge of the cuisine has most certainly grown.
While this place shares the same name and signage as a place in Orlando, they are independent of each other and I’m happy to report this place is locally owned. The current owner, Beam Tk and his family operate this place and took over ownership back in November of 2016. They are located in the middle of one of the most confusing intersections in Vero. As you drive down US Hwy 1 and take the right exit to go to Miracle Mile, they are in a small strip mall at the corner of 21st and 8th Ave. Parking was not an issue for us although their lot is fairly small and at peak times for all businesses, it could fill up fast. Upon entry into the restaurant, there is a sushi bar that you can sit at and watch the chef (Beam) at work, and the hostess stand is on the right as is the dining room. The space is comfortable and minimally decorated with a mix of booths and tables.
Now let’s dive right in and see what this place has to offer and what I had to eat!
Crab Angels – ($6.95) – First time I’ve heard them called “Crab Angels”, I’m more familiar with the term Rangoons. A wonton wrapper is filled with a seasoned cream cheese and crab mixture pinched together and fried until golden brown. A sweet chili sauce was served alongside. My dad and I always order these and these are some of the best I’ve had around town. The way they are folded into “angels” allows for a lot more filling inside. I should also mention that real crab meat was used, not the imitation crab meat like most places use. They were fantastic!
House Sampler – ($15.95) – I love sampler platters because it allows me to try a few different items that I may not have ordered on their own to see if I like them. This one consists of Shrimp in a Blanket, Thai Crispy Rolls, Chicken Satay, Fried Dumplings, and Edamame. Four different dipping sauces were served alongside. Everything was perfectly cooked/fried and was quite tasty. The dipping sauces added additional flavors to some already great items. The only thing we didn’t like was the Edamame, but that is just a personal preference.
Super Crunch Roll (Tempura) – ($10.95) – This was an interesting twist on a sushi roll that I’ve not tried before. The roll is made with Eel, Salmon, krab, scallions, cream cheese, then lightly tempura battered and flash fried. It was served over Eel sauce. The roll tasted like any other roll of this type only it had an interesting texture and crunch when you took a bite of it. The tempura was lightly fried, not greasy at all, and added that richness you come to expect from this type of batter, which only added another layer of flavor to the roll.
Salmon Samba Sushi Burrito – ($12.95) – I have to admit, when I first saw this posted on their Facebook page, it did not seem appetizing to me, but after trying it, I can’t stop thinking about how good it actually was. Inside the roll, you will find Tempura Salmon, Tempura Asparagus, Masago, Cucumber, Lettuce and Eel sauce. Think of this as an oversized sushi roll that has not been sliced. My biggest concern for this was would I be able to easily bite through the seaweed wrapper on the outside and it was easier than I thought it would be. The flavor and texture were really good and I would definitely order this again on my next visit.
Shabu Shabu Hot Pot – While this is not my first experience with Chinese Hot Pot, it has been many years since I’ve had it, so I was looking forward to trying it again. Items are served a la carte and you choose what you want. You are charged a per person broth price then you can add meatballs, dumplings, vegetables, meat of your choice including seafood options, with add-ons of noodles or tofu. First off, the broth was amazing! It’s made fresh in-house by Beam’s mother who works in the kitchen. All of the ingredients that were provided were fresh and delicious! If you have never tried this before, I highly recommend it. It’s a new way to experience food and its fun for everyone at the table.
Yellow Curry – ($11.95) – I think most people have a misconception that Curry tends to be “spicy”, but it most cases it’s just “spiced” which gives it tons of flavor with only a little bit of heat which was the case with this one. Made with yellow curry paste, it also has chicken, pineapple, potato, red and green bell peppers, and cashews. The broth was smooth and creamy and had a bold, yet not too spicy flavor. White rice was served alongside.
Mango with Sticky Rice – ($5.95) – To round out our meal, we were served a raspberry flavored sticky rice with sliced mango on the side. The sticky rice had just the amount of sweetness and while the raspberry flavor was somewhat subtle, it was just the right amount. The sliced mango was very fresh and had a wonderful citrus flavor. As you can imagine what all we had to eat that we were fairly full at this point, but somehow the dessert seemed to disappear before the evening was over.
In Conclusion:
Most of the time my wife and I do these reviews alone, but this time we took 2 additional people with us and boy are we glad we did! The amount of food served to us was staggering and we were very full by the end of the evening because it was all so good! Now that we know this place is not a chain restaurant and run by a local family, we will now add it into our Asian restaurant rotation when we choose to dine out for this type of cuisine. We had a wonderful experience and meal, so I suggest you stop by and check these guys out, I know you won’t be disappointed!
Siam Orchid Website | Siam Orchid Facebook Page
Address: 762 21st St, Vero Beach, FL 32960
Hours of Operation:
Monday – Friday, 11:30am – 2:30pm and 4:30pm – 10:00pm,
Saturday, 12:00pm – 3:00pm and 4:30pm – 10:00pm
Sunday, 12:00pm – 3:00pm and 4:30pm – 9:00pm
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